Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur
The Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur is situated in the picturesque state of Rajasthan, India. The Stadium is popularly known to be SMS stadium. It is developed in the memorial of honourable Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II. It has been established in year 1969 as to give Jaipur a way to the building of sports era. It is best of the stadium in India after renovation of 2006. It is located at the corner of the Rambagh Circle which is among one of highly populated area of Jaipur. It is having a 35,000 seats to be filled.
The stadium act as a Sport Complex offerings various other sport activities including Cricket, Badminton, Tennis, Athletics events etc.
Cricket History:
The Sawai Man Singh Stadium has hosted its first Test match, between India and Pakistan, starting on 21 February 1987 . Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq was chief guest of this innogrative match. He crossed the border to watch the second day’s play as part of his “Cricket for Peace” initiative.This is also the ground where Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, most successful opening pair for India in ODIs, opened the innings for the first time .
This match remarked its impartance in the history of test matches by theYounis Ahmed’s return to the Test fray after an absence of over 17 years and also for Sunil Gavaskar’s dismissal to the first ball of the Test match . The game sputtered to a draw after the third day’s play was abandoned following heavy rain.
The first ODI match was held between the same two sides on 2 October 1983. The Indians comfortably won by four wickets. The ground has also hosted two World Cup matches in 1987 and 1996 respectively, ENGLAND won the former and West Indians latter one.
The highest individual score by any batsman on this ground in ODIs is 183 (not out) by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Major Records:
Though the SMS stadium mostly hosted test matches but its ODI records are also remarkable . The highest ODI score at this ground is 362-1 by India against Australia in 2013-14. The lowest ODI score at this ground is 135 by India against Pakistan. The highest individual score by any batsman on this ground in ODI is 183 not out by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Major Tournaments:
2006 Women’s Asia cup
2006 ICC Champions Trophy
1987 & 1996 Cricket World Cup
This stadium is now-a-days a proper hotshot hosting destination for the Indian Premier League Matches.